My favorite part of living in Colby’s downtown apartments, Alfond Commons, has definitely been having a kitchen. My roommates and I have taken full advantage of our wonderful kitchen that we are so lucky to have by mastering the art of making healthy-ish comfort foods. It’s easy to opt for quick fast food when you’re tired of the dining halls, but we have found that these recipes are not only so much better for us, but are also just as delicious. All of these recipes can be made with ingredients found at Walmart, Hannaford, and even the Save a Lot right behind the apartments.
- Alfredo Chicken Zucchini Boats
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This dinner was way simpler to make than I expected, and I made it with a friend which made it all the more enjoyable! We followed this recipe, making modifications along the way for ingredients we were missing. It was super filling and the zucchini and chicken combination made for a pretty balanced meal. Also, you can’t go wrong with Alfredo sauce.
- Sofrito Crispy Tofu
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Living with four vegetarians has shown me that food really can be good without meat. One of my roommates made up this recipe as she went, but it turned out to be a major hit:
1. Press water out of tofu
2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
3. Cut tofu into small cubes (about ½ in x ½ in)
4. Toss cubes in a bowl with olive oil, paprika, garlic, salt, and cumin to taste
5. Toss in Goya Sofrito cooking base
6. Coat cubes evenly in cornstarch
7. Bake for 20 minutes, flipping after 10 minutes
This tofu is great in salads or on top of rice, quinoa, and veggies, or even in a stir fry. It reheats well in the oven too!
- Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread
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Baking has been one of our favorite roommate activities in my apartment. It’s always a fun time and you get the best reward. I feel that, although this might be a bit of a stretch, pumpkin or banana bread recipes can be some of the “healthiest” desserts. This recipe was easy to follow and turned out great. We made a few loaves and froze some to enjoy later. Feel free to substitute the chocolate chips for something like nuts to be even healthier.
- Mushroom Cream Sauce
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Any dish with a cream sauce feels like a comfort food to me. Mushroom sauce is versatile; it can go over chicken, steak, or just a bowl of pasta. I honestly just threw some ingredients together on the fly for this, but if you prefer to follow a recipe, I recommend this one! All I did was combine half-and-half, some butter, parmesan, mushrooms, lemon juice, garlic, salt and pepper and I had a tasty sauce that really upped my pasta game.
- Taco Salad
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This dish is probably the healthiest one on this list, but it’s absolutely an apartment favorite. I make mine with ground chicken or turkey, but my vegetarian roommate supplements hers with proteins like crispy baked chickpeas, vegan chicken nuggets, or tofu. We don’t follow a specific recipe, but our salads usually include these ingredients:
1. Lettuce
2. Tomatoes
3. Black beans
4. Corn
5. Red onion
6. Cilantro
7. Hummus
8. Some kind of protein
9. Ranch dressing (option for this vegan one)
10. Cheddar cheese (optional)
If you’ve run out of ideas or are just craving some comfort food, try out one of these recipes and you won’t be disappointed!